Evidentia Software - Why I Like It!

As part of the Genealogy Do-Over I purchased the software Evidentia, and I am so happy I did!  Evidentia helps me follow all the elements of the Genealogical Proof Standard so I can be confident that my family tree is as accurate as can be.  

As I collect documents, newspaper articles, census data, etc as part of my reasonably exhaustive search, I can enter all the pieces of information contained in what I find.  I like that I can pull every little bit of information out of whatever I have found and have it right where I will be able to find it later without having to touch that piece of paper or return to that web site again.  If you stop and think of just how many different pieces of information that a census entry, for example, tells you about just one person, nevertheless a whole family, then you will appreciate how Evidentia can handle it all in an organized manner.  Each little fact can be linked to the appropriate ancestor with a correct Evidence Explained citation.  The program has wonderful templates that make it a cinch to cite anything you will come across.  

After you have completed the search process, Evidentia is ready to help you analyze all your information.  You can see which piece or pieces of information are stronger than others, which are primary or secondary pieces, and how different facts can connect with one another to give you a complete picture of the event or fact.  I was very surprised when I discovered that I had no real proof of my grandfather’s birthdate other than his say so!  With that surprise, I was able to add a task to my to-do list that I probably would never realized I needed to do without Evidentia.  Now to find a birth or baptism record for him!

With all that Evidentia does for you, it will also help you resolve any conflicts that arise in your genealogy research.  I know it will be a huge help with those ancestors of mine who aged much less than the ten years allotted them with every census!  I also have a great-great grandfather who just couldn’t seem to decide where he was born.  Each document gives me a different state!  Evidentia will help me see all the birth locations and years in one spot ready to be analyzed and resolved.  

The final step in the Genealogical Proof Standard is the written conclusion, and Evidentia helps you with that too!  With all your information and analysis on the screen in front of you, it is easy to write your conclusion based on your sound research.  You can then print it or save it for future use.  All your hard work won’t get lost on your desk or in that pile of paper that you will go through eventually.  

I am really glad that I bought this software!  I haven’t had it very long or used it with very many ancestors yet, but I can already see how it will help me and might even break through some brick walls.  I have read where some people use it only with their brick wall ancestors while others use it for everyone in their database.  So far, I have been using it for all my family as I really want to know the program before I get to my more difficult ancestors and, like I said before, I did discover the lack of a birth record for my grandfather so it has been worth the time it takes to enter the information.

If you decide to get Evidentia, the support is wonderful too!  Ed Thompson, the creator, will quickly answer emails and Facebook messages.  I had a problem linking to my Dropbox account and he did everything in his power to help me.  He stayed with my problem until he found a solution and now everything works like a dream.  He has a Google+ group and a Facebook page for the users of Evidentia.  Don’t you wish everything had that kind of support?  

By the way, I was not asked to do this review nor was I paid or compensated in any way.  When I like something, I just think others might want to hear about it!  

Update - I am now a part of the Evidentia affiliate program so if you click on the Evidentia link and purchase it, I receive a small portion of the purchase price.